Lynette.
Fusilier John Egan was in 2nd Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers who were part of 13 Infantry Brigade who were themselves part of 5 Infantry Division. He would have fought with the Battalion at the crossing of the mighty River Garigliano on 17 Jan 44 and got on to Minturno Ridge on the other side – no mean achievement I can assure you.
From there, when Anzio went belly up in the last week of Jan 44, 2 RIF and the rest of 5 Infantry Division were rushed into the beachhead where they stayed until the breakout on 23 May 44. During their time in the beachhead, 5 Infantry Division looked after a part of the line called the ‘Wadis’ and endured grim, WW1-style warfare. It was utterly grim and it was here that he was killed on 11 Apr 44.
I am taking a group there on 13-16 Jun 19 so if you would like to see what he and 2 RIF endured, you are welcome to join us. In the meantime, I will tip my hat to him when I visit the Beach Head Cemetery with a British Army group in Mar 19.
Regards
Frank
.
